


The Price of Tears

by theauthor2010



Category: Glee
Genre: Crying, Guilt, M/M, Redemption, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-10
Updated: 2011-04-10
Packaged: 2017-10-17 20:19:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/180817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theauthor2010/pseuds/theauthor2010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Burt Hummel informs Dave that he's already committed the greatest sin in his eyes: He made Kurt cry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Price of Tears

"You made my son cry in a way that I hadn't seen him cry since his mother passed away."

Burt Hummel's words hung in between the two of them, burning hot and terrifying. Dave stood in front of his beloved's father staring, just absolutely dumbfounded. The words hurt, cutting so deep and allowing all of the self loathing he'd been dealing with to bubble toward the surface. It nearly choked him.

Burt wasn't finished though.

"I found him in his room; he was face down on the bed and sobbing, that night. Carole and I told him we were sending him to Dalton and it was the night before he left. He didn't want to be weak and didn't want to hide. He didn't want to lose his friends, his stepbrother, and his glee club family. He kept sobbing out: I can't lose them...I can’t lose them over this. I tried to comfort him but I couldn’t.”

Dave swallowed, staring at Burt with wide eyes. He could see the image in his head. The moment that he shut his eyes to try and prevent tears from falling he could see Kurt lying on his bed; the same bed Dave had seen before with the mountain of pillows and thick blankets. In his head, Kurt turned around onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow in front of his head. “I can’t lose them!” he sobbed loudly, even though the words were muffled by the fabric. “He’s taking everything from me. I can’t lose them over this.”

Dave breathed in deeply and tried his best not to cry. He wanted to kill the guy who did this to Kurt, but he knew deep inside that the image in his head was of a Kurt in pain because of him. “I’ve been working so hard,” he told the man quietly, not that it really mattered. “I’ve been getting help, working through stuff, for Kurt, because I love Kurt…I want him to feel comfortable and safe with me after all that I did to him.”

“That’s irrelevant to me,” Burt condemned, his words harsh and his eyes unforgiving. “All I know is that you are the one who caused my kid that kind of pain and that, in my eyes, is unforgivable. I know that Kurt says he loves you and that he’s a hell of a lot more forgiving then I am, but right now, all I can see in front of me is the kid who made Kurt cry that way. Right now, I can’t forgive or forget.”

“I love Kurt.”

“I don’t care what you say, kid,” Burt said seriously, but Dave did notice the sort of sadness lingering behind his eyes as he laid down a threat. “If you ever lead to Kurt crying in that way again, there won’t be enough of you left to identify the body.” Their eyes met and Dave knew that despite being a humble, usually mild-mannered mechanic, Burt was telling the truth. He flinched, absolutely afraid and absolutely consumed by self-loathing.

“I understand sir,” he said and then he walked away. He barely made it to the door before he began crying. He crumbled into himself, groaning and letting out a howl the moment that he made it to the safety of his car. He knew that he had to drive home, but it took at least twenty minutes to calm down enough to safely drive. He waited it out, his heart racing, his head was pounding. All that he could really think about was the image of a crying Kurt in his head.

He had done that.

He had made Kurt cry.

Finally, he managed to get himself home. He stumbled upstairs to his bedroom, thanking God that his parents didn’t notice his arrival. He could not face them and could not talk to them that night. He could not do anything except hate the fact that Burt Hummel couldn’t forgive him and hate the fact that he was a horrible person. He hated himself more than he ever had before.

“Davey, aren’t you going to come downstairs?” his mother asked him through his closed door.

“Mom I don’t feel good. I’m going to stay up here for awhile.”

Nothing made him respond that whole night until his father’s gruff voice came into the hallway. “David, your mother said you were sick but you have a guest. Should I tell him to go away and come back later?”

“No, Dad. It’s Kurt. Let him in.”

He knew it was Kurt. He had lost all of his friends when he came out at school and Kurt was the only one who would come visit him. He did not really want to see Kurt but he at least had to apologize before his lungs burst. He needed to get out the apologies that apparently weren’t counted among the hundreds and thousands that he had given the boy he loved, his beloved boyfriend.

Kurt walked in, looking very out of place. He crossed his arms, glanced around Dave’s bedroom and then stared his boyfriend in the eye. “What did my dad tell you, Dave?” he asked.

Dave was shocked that Kurt knew he had spoken with his father. He sat up, choked on sobs and finally managed words, “How did you know?”

“Finn saw you leaving upset,” Kurt said, sitting next to him on the bed. He reached over and brushed a tear off of Dave’s cheek. It was a gentle, loving gesture. “What did my father say to you, Dave?”

“I can’t.” He didn’t want to demonize Kurt’s dad when it wasn’t the man’s fault. Every word he said was true. He didn’t want Kurt to feel bad when he deserved the pain he felt.

“David please.”

He couldn’t take Kurt’s pleading at all. He opened his mouth and the words just spilled out. “He told me that I made you cry,” he whispered. “He told me about how you just broke down the night after your l-last day at McKinley. He told me about how you cried and how you missed your friends and how I took you away from them. He told me that he hadn’t seen you cry like that since your… since, since your mom died, Kurt…He told me that he would never forgive me and that if I ever made you cry again, he’d kill me.”

Kurt stared at him, shock evident in his sweet eyes. He brushed his fingers over Dave’s cheek again. His eyes seemed wet, like he wanted to cry, but no, god no, Dave could not see him cry. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Dave’s cheek. “I’m so sorry, David, I had no idea that he would say something like that to you. I knew that he couldn’t just forgive, but I had no idea that he would be that harsh. I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he yelled, catching Kurt’s hand in his. In an ultimate act of masochism, he added, “Can you tell me about that night?”

Kurt shook his head from side to side, but when Dave kept staring at him, he broke down and told him. “I was devastated that I reached such a breaking point,” he said, his voice strong even though his eyes wobbled with tears. “I was devastated that I hadn’t been strong enough to continue enduring. I was devastated that I gave up and because I gave up I would be forced to leave everything that made me happy. I kept thinking about the things I had earned at McKinley, a group that was close to a family, a stepbrother who loved me, my best friend who needed me. I kept thinking about losing and I broke down, simple as that.”

It hurt even worse hearing it from Kurt. Dave sobbed softly. Kurt leaned over and hugged him, holding tightly. “David, please,” he whispered. “I know how hard you worked and how much you changed. That image of me crying is just something that Dad has fixated on. He’s that kind of person, but I have more to fixate on. I have you, the you that I love, the you that’s taken care of me and fought for me and the you that’s let me take care of you.”

Dave looked up and wiped the tears off his boyfriend’s cheek in the same way that Kurt did for him. Kurt nodded, slowly.

“I don’t know how to prove myself to everyone,” he admitted softly.

“Take your time and be strong like you are,” Kurt said, shrugging. “You proved yourself to me and everything else will follow us. You are so strong, baby and the tears that I’ve cried because of you have been nearly erased by the happiness you’ve given me. I love you.”

“I swear to God, Kurt, I’ll never make you cry again.”

“I know that,” Kurt said, kissing him slowly, pushing his whole body into it. “I know it. You make me happy.”


End file.
